The Ascent Beckoned
by Miles Above My Head
Summary: A series of one-shots to songs on shuffle on my phone. A ton of Maltara romance, because what else do I write? Title: "The descent beckons as the ascent beckoned."
1. February Air

_February Air_

"_My arms get cold  
In February air  
Please don't lose hold of me out there._

_And I know you're near me  
I know you understand  
Say that you're with me  
Say you know my face like the back of your hands."_

_-Lights_

"Just _trust me_." Her brown hair whipped through the air as she turned to look at him. "Please."

He hesitated for a fraction of a second before saying, "I do." She smiled. "I always do."

They ran around the corner of the building, searching along the side for a back door. There was a back door; she knew it. There had to be.

Finally, after running her hand desperately along the same wall for the fifth time, she felt it. A small indent in the wall, just large enough for a hand to fit into. A handle.

They crept into the building quietly, looking for the room they knew was located right behind the front door. As they entered, they saw a hooded figure standing right at the front door, a gun in hand. Slowly, the man turned to face them in shock.

"_Down!_" Mal yelled. His partner dropped to the floor and a shot rang out. She heard a _thump _as a body hit the ground, and the world was deathly still until-

"Stand up." She stayed with her face pressed against the floor. "Stand _up_, you stupid girl," the rough voice growled again. She lifted her head just in time to see the knife poke out of his chest from behind as he shrieked.

"Natara," an out-of-breath Mal panted.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly, unable to see a spot of the floor clear of blood. "Did he shoot you?"

"Yeah, but it's just skimmed my shoulder. I'll be fine. _Natara_," he breathed, grinning. "You're an absolute _genius_."

She smirked back at him. "It's my job."

"If we'd come through the front…" Mal shook his head. "We'd be dead."

"I know."

"You're a genius," he repeated.

"I know."

"I love you."

Her grin grew. "I know," she replied, standing up to kiss him once before looking over at the body of the man who had just attacked them.

Mal followed her gaze. "What do we do with him?"

Natara bent down. "He isn't dead. Ambulance?"

"I'm on it."

Twenty minutes later, the screaming of the sirens was fading as the ambulance made its way back to the hospital, patient aboard. They watched it race away with glazed eyes.

"So," Mal began, breaking the silence, "dinner, then?"

"That depends. Where?"

He grinned slightly and looked over at his partner, who was still watching the street though the ambulance had long disappeared. "It's a surprise."

"I hate surprises."

"I know."

Natara smiled and looked over at him finally. "You love antagonizing me, don't you?"

"It's my job."

"I thought your job was to make me feel like a princess, or whatever."

"You already are a princess." Mal laughed.

"So where are we going for dinner?"

"I said it's a surprise!"

Natara groaned. "And I said I hate surprises!"

"Come _on, _Nat," he said, taking her hand and pulling her along, toward his car. "Just _trust_ me."

* * *

"It's freezing," Natara commented. They were sitting on the rooftop of her apartment building (which was forbidden) and eating slightly-warm Chinese food (which was delicious) and staring down at the lights of the city (which substituted for looking up at the stars, as they were hidden from sight).

"Come here," Mal said, ignoring her comment. He set his food down and walked over to stand up on the edge of the roof. Natara shrieked and ran toward him.

"Get down from there!"

"No, come on up. It's cool!"

"Mal Fallon, you are going to fall!"

He turned around and his tousled brown hair blew back in the breeze. She saw the way his eyes shone through the darkness, the way they always did when he took risks. He held out his hand for her, but she didn't move forward to take it.

"Come on," he whispered, his voice carrying to her ears on the breeze. "Trust me."

Natara sighed inaudibly and inched forward just enough for him to grab her and pull her up. She let out a noise somewhere between a squeak and a scream and he laughed.

"You almost got shot by a psychopathic murderer," he said, "which, by the way, occurs on a daily basis, but you can't stand on the edge of a roof?"

"That's different," she murmured, covering her face with her hands, muffling her shaking voice. "I _expect_ to die that way."

He leaned over so his breath tickled her ear when he said, "At least if we fall, we'll die holding hands." He reached up and took her left hand, pulling it away from her face. Slowly, she lowered her right hand as well and looked down at the city. It was breathtaking.

And as Natara looked down at the blinking lights of San Francisco and felt the breeze on her face and Mal's fingers intertwined with her own, she felt okay. She felt like she belonged. For the first time in her life, she felt invincible. Indestructible. Infinite.

She looked over at Mal smiling, his hair blowing around his face, his blue eyes shining with the light of adventure. She belonged here in this city with him.

Infinite.

* * *

**So, hi. I realize I disappeared and I'd like to say I'm back, but that would be a lie. I just have a lot going on and don't have a lot of time to write so I don't know how much I'll be writing or if I'll be updating or what. But this is intended to be a collection of one-shots to songs I find on shuffle on my phone. They're unrelated to each other, or they _will _be unrelated to each other if I write more. I really hope to write more of these because it's really interesting to see how my brain adapts the music to Cause of Death and Mal and Natara's new relationship.**

**But anyway, I've been getting some reviews lately and I'd just like to say thanks for still reading my stories even though I've kind of vanished from existence for the past few months. (Did you know junior year of high school is, like, a crapload of work? Like honestly, what even is this? I hate it so much. And I've been busy with competition for skating and my parents might be getting divorced ew. So that's my life story, how 'bout you?) (; Well, I hope I'll be around more! Please review? :)**


	2. Stolen

_Stolen_

"_I watch you spin around in your highest heels  
You are the best one, of the best ones  
We all look like we feel._

_You have stolen my,  
You have stolen my,  
You have stolen my,  
You have stolen my heart."_

_-Dashboard Confessional_

Her laugh rang out over the blaring music and the sound of hundreds of feet tapping on the floor.

"He really doesn't care about what people think, does he?" Natara asked.

"I believe that is Kai's number one personality trait," I answered. "More wine?"

"Please," she said, and I picked up the bottle and tipped the last of it into her glass. "This is, like, my fourth glass," she told me as she sipped it.

I laughed. "This is my fifth."

"Mal?" said a timid voice from behind me. "Would you like to dance?" It was Amy.

"Sure, Ames." I smiled at her. Natara waved at us as I stood up and Amy waved back.

"Have you seen Kai?" Amy asked as we started to dance.

"Has anyone not seen Kai?" I laughed. "What was he trying to do anyway?"

"I assume he was trying to dance." Amy laughed too.

A few hours ago, the precinct had been cleaner than I'd ever seen it; however, now it was strung with glowing lights and glittering decorations so it was barely recognizable – all for the elaborate engagement party of none other than Seth Holland. So far, he hasn't been around, thank God. He's almost definitely holed up somewhere dark with whatever woman he's finally convinced to commit her to him. Maybe they're in the crime lab. That's a disgusting thought.

"Natara looks nice, doesn't she?"

I glanced over to where Natara is sitting. She was still at the table where we were sitting, almost finished with her wine. It was red wine; she only likes red wine, of course. Her dress was knee length, purple and black. As I watched, she reached down and rubbed her ankle. Her shoes were black and the heels were higher than any I'd ever seen her wear. I smiled slightly. She probably hated them; I'd bet she wanted to change into sneakers and sweats and curl up on her couch to read a book. That would be typical Natara.

"She always looks beautiful," I murmured.

"Hey, look!" Amy said suddenly and we stopped swaying suddenly. "Oscar's here!"

I watched as Oscar Santos, with his usual perfect black hair and business suit, stood just inside the doorway, scanning the room in earnest. His eyes landed on someone and he began to rush over. It wasn't until he reached her that I realized he was obviously here looking for Natara.

"Amy-" I began.

"I know," she said gently. "Go."

By the time I got over to them, Natara's voice was already above what people usually consider a respectable inside voice volume.

"But Nat," Oscar was saying, "why can't we just try? I just don't understand-"

"No, Oscar," she said irritably. "You clearly _don't _understand. I've told you over and over that it isn't you. It wasn't anything wrong with us, okay? I just wanted different things than you did. I'm not ready to get married, not yet. And I just can't see it happening with us. I'm sorry."

"Hey, Nat," I interrupted, unconcerned by Oscar's angry huff from behind me. "Want to dance?"

She smiled and let out a breath. "Sure."

I took her hand and led her away from her ex-fiancé, away from the fighting, away from the pain that I knew it brought her, deep down.

"_You have stolen my,  
You have stolen my,  
You have stolen my,  
You have stolen my heart."_

I gave myself two reasons. The first was the five glasses of wine I had in me that were impairing my judgment. The second was her fuming, jealous ex-fiancé who was watching us that I badly wanted to know had no chance with her anymore.

The third reason that I knew deep down was that I wanted to. She wanted to. We both did.

As we swayed gently to the music, I leaned in and our lips brushed. I kissed Natara Williams.

"_And from the ballroom floor, we are in celebration  
One good stretch before our hibernation  
Our dreams assured and we all will sleep well._

_You have stolen my,  
You have stolen my,  
You have stolen my,  
You have stolen my heart."_

* * *

**I realize this is short and really poorly written and I do not care at all. :) If I didn't upload this ASAP then I was afraid I'd never have motivation to post anything ever again. So I'm very not-proud of this but I swear I'll do better eventually. I just haven't written much in such a long time. I'm sorry. XD**


	3. Keep This Fire

Keep This Fire

_Each night we'd fall in love  
To wake up, give up  
The more we have and all we had is missed._

_I call to the snow;  
I need your hand to hold  
To get me through this stage of life, you know._

_We gotta keep this fire,  
We gotta keep this fire,  
We've gotta keep this fire to keep burning on._

_-Goldhawks_

Mal Fallon.

It's funny how a person's name can hold so much more than those two words. His name holds everything about him: the way he laughs, the way his hair always hangs in his face, the way he hides pain with sarcasm, even the way his eyes light up with the prospect of trying something new.

Falling in love with someone is like falling asleep: slowly at first and then all at once. But nothing about Mal Fallon was slow or calm. He loved the wildest roller coasters, the loudest music, and hated to sit and watch and wait.

Their relationship started out fairly quickly, Natara reflected as she passed some kids racing in skates on a frozen pond. There wasn't a big discussion about how it would affect their friendship as she'd always assumed there would be; they slept together before they were even free from San Trobida. The first time Mal said he loved her was before they went after their suspect for the Boogieman case. She hadn't even been sure if he was technically her "boyfriend" yet or what they were, but she knew they loved each other. How very appropriate that he would hurriedly say his first "I love you." before they raced off to catch a criminal. No, their relationship certainly wasn't traditional or one Natara was used to. Maybe that was okay. After all, her other relationships hadn't worked out. Maybe this one _was _different. Maybe it would.

Her phone began to vibrate and she pulled it out, barely glancing at the screen before she answered. Her pace slowed as she began to speak.

"Mal." Natara smiled. "It's five in the morning."

"I couldn't sleep."

"And what if I was sleeping?"

"You're Natara; you weren't sleeping in this late." She could almost hear the smile playing on his lips.

"So why couldn't you sleep?"

"I realized we hadn't done anything for Valentine's Day."

"I didn't know you wanted to. I didn't know if we were…."

"In a relationship?" Mal laughed. "I want you to be happy. And I want to be the reason you're happy. Meet me at Sean's in three hours. I already called us off work."

And with that, he hung up before she could respond. Natara sighed, pocketing her phone and resuming her run through the park, now heading in the opposite direction.

Yes, Mal Fallon certainly was hard to keep up with at times, Natara thought, running past the frozen pond and the leafless trees and the dead grass and subsequently lengthening her strides so she could get home sooner. Luckily, she was quick enough to keep up with him.

* * *

**Wow I wrote this a while ago and I just typed it up and I'm so not proud of it. Goodness, this is not that good. But anyway it doesn't have a whole lot to do with the song but I could picture Natara running to this song? I don't know. I just...I don't even know anymore. XD Thanks for reading! I _might _have an actual story with, like, a real plot and everything (!) up soon. I was trying to avoid that until summer because I don't think I'll be able to update regularly so I was sticking with these one shots but...I don't play by the rules I guess. Hope to be updating/uploading soon! Bye!**


	4. Because of You

**I know this isn't necessarily what this song is ABOUT, but do I care? The answer is no. :-) This isn't, like, a HAPPY STORY, or a GOOD STORY, so don't yell at me for bumming you out or anything, alright? (:**

* * *

"_I will not make the same mistakes you did.  
I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery.  
I will not break the way you did;  
You fell so hard.  
I've learned the hard way  
To never let it get that far._

_Because of you I never stray too far from the sidewalk.  
Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt.  
Because of you I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me.  
Because of you, I am afraid."_

They think I'm the hero. Everyone here thinks I'm a great detective, an amazing partner, and an outstanding friend.

It all started when I was young. I actually can't remember a time I didn't get into trouble. I was a god-awful son; I can't believe my parents even put up with me at all. I must've made their lives so hard.

Then I joined the force. Yeah, I guess it was to follow in my dad's footsteps at first. Then my life started, quite literally, falling apart.

My mom died, and every day since, it replayed in my mind, haunting me: the last words she said, the last breath she took, her eyes looking at mine, and then her not seeing, not breathing, not being anything anymore. She was gone. Just like that, gone.

My dad was a criminal by then. Cynthia and I both knew it was only a matter of time before he got caught. And he did. But I still followed in his footsteps, joining the force like I always assumed I would. I guess all those little police cars won me over. I wasn't afraid I'd end up a corrupt cop like him. Thinking back, maybe I should have been. But it doesn't really matter.

So there I was, doing what my dad always wanted me to do, and doing it goddamn good, too. I was sticking to the law and locking criminals up like I was born to do it. Eventually, Cynthia moved away. It wasn't like I hadn't expected her to, but what I hadn't expected was how much it hurt. She didn't die; she wasn't in prison. She still left me though, just like mom and dad. My big sister still abandoned me just like they had. And yeah, obviously I never _told _her I needed her. Ever. Not even when I was a kid. I didn't need my big sister.

It still hurt, though.

They all said I was the hero. I was always so willing to take a bullet for my partner, for Ken or Blaise or Joe or anyone. I would always stand between my partner and danger. They just didn't realize that I was the one that didn't care. Everyone left me, why would I care if a bomb took my life instead of Ken's? My family had all gone, what difference would it make if I took a bullet from a maniac's gun instead of Blaise? They should have the chance to live if that's what they wanted. Because me? I didn't want it. I really, really didn't want it.

Then Natara showed up. They still called me the hero detective, the big shot that was willing to protect the new fed from danger out on the streets. I've never smiled so much when they said that. Because now, it was the real deal. It wasn't some dumb impulse to let myself get hurt instead of someone who I thought deserved life more than I did. Taking a bullet for Natara wasn't like taking a bullet for anyone else. It wasn't like "She values her life and she has things to live for and I better let her live so she can do them because I have nothing better to do." No, with Natara, it was instinct. It was like, "I need to keep this woman alive because she is so incredibly, unbelievably special that I can't bear the thought of her not existing somewhere at all times on the earth, even if I'm not alive to be there next to her." With Natara, I began to matter, but she came first.

For awhile, that strategy worked great. I kept recklessly saving her and she kept hugging me in gratitude and I loved every single bit of it. I realized I was falling for her and she fell for me and everything was inexplicably, indescribably wonderful for the first time since I was a kid.

Then I made a mistake.

In retrospect, we should have told Anders or someone. Someone that could have told her "no" when I couldn't. I shouldn't have let her go out on the field with me, but how could anyone possibly have expected me to say no? She was making that adorable face that made me just think "God, I love this woman so goddamn much she can have anything she's asking for if it will make her smile." So I let her. I let her come with to chase that goddamn criminal.

And the guy had a gun. And the gun had a bullet. And I had my goddamn idiotic strategy. He shot at her, and I ran and pushed her aside just as recklessly, just as thoughtlessly, just as instinctively as I always had.

"I need to save her. I need to save my wife. Not Natara, please God not Natara. Not my wife. Not when she just told me she's finally pregnant. Not Natara, not the baby. I need to save our baby."

That's me, just being the goddamn hero as always.

Maybe now she's more careful without me. Like, without knowing I'll be there to push her aside when she's being reckless and standing right in the way of a bullet whizzing toward her, maybe she stops and thinks, "Hey, maybe I should move out of the way because I need to pick my daughter up from daycare in a few hours and she's probably not expecting to be an orphan by the end of the day." I sure hope she thinks of Isabelle before she stands right in front of a goddamn bullet. (That's what she named our daughter, by the way. Isabelle. Isn't that the most gorgeous name in the world? Oh, you should see her. She's the most _gorgeous _kid in the world. That name fits her perfectly.)

If anything happened to Natara, I don't know what I would do. I don't know how someone could watch the person they love more than anyone in the world dying. How could anyone do that? How could anyone hold their hand and tell them they'd be okay and tell them they love them when they know – they _know _ goddamn well – things aren't okay?

How the hell did Nat do that for me?


End file.
